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Apple Studio Displays

L

lauriechelt

macrumors member
Original poster
I was looking for a external display to connect to my macbook and a local apple retailer said they had got their hands a load of 17" LCD studio displays. He was willing to sell them for £75.

Does this sound like a good deal? Are they good monitors or pretty outdated, i'm only gonna be watching movies, typing essays, no real photo editing etc

Also i think i'd need to get the right cable to connect the two, think its mini dvi to adc...anyone know a good place to pick one of these up cheap?

Cheers Guys

Laurie
 
lauriechelt said:
I was looking for a external display to connect to my macbook and a local apple retailer said they had got their hands a load of 17" LCD studio displays. He was willing to sell them for £75.

Does this sound like a good deal? Are they good monitors or pretty outdated, i'm only gonna be watching movies, typing essays, no real photo editing etc

Also i think i'd need to get the right cable to connect the two, think its mini dvi to adc...anyone know a good place to pick one of these up cheap?

Cheers Guys

Laurie
Click to expand...

I have one of these: They are nice but older LCD's. They are not as bright as LCD technology of the past 3 years. They are sharp. Their response time is slow for movies. Great for typing.

The color gamut is very basic and not on par with technology for the past 3 years.

But look what you are paying! Much nicer than a CRT or other cheap panel. They look great too.

Just my thoughts.
 
lauriechelt said:
Also i think i'd need to get the right cable to connect the two, think its mini dvi to adc...anyone know a good place to pick one of these up cheap?
Click to expand...

I think this is going to be the deciding factor... Getting apple studio monitors working with PCs is a big pain, and this sounds like the same situation given the Macbook's external DVI connector. Not sure where you'd find the cable...maybe eBay?
 
wallaby said:
I think this is going to be the deciding factor... Getting apple studio monitors working with PCs is a big pain, and this sounds like the same situation given the Macbook's external DVI connector. Not sure where you'd find the cable...maybe eBay?
Click to expand...

You will need an ADC to DVI adapter, then the DVI to Mini-DVI.

Get one the ADC to DVI adapter here:

http://www.smalldog.com/product/12651830

This from the Apple Store as verification:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...wo/StoreReentry.wo?productLearnMore=M8661LL/B

You should have the mini-dvi to dvi adapter included with your laptop.
 
Thanks for the quick replies!

I was looking at the connection issue last night and it seems as if you're correct about there not being a mini dvi to adc cable...its strange becasue the guy selling the display didnt mention that 😕

Anyway

You should have the mini-dvi to dvi adapter included with your laptop.[/QUOTE]

Is that correct, because i didnt get one with my macbook, its the one just before the SR update?!

Looks like i'll need to get the two cables!! Will that have any effect on picture quality?!

Apart from that is £75 a good price for the display alone?!

Thanks again
Laurie
 
lauriechelt said:
Thanks for the quick replies!

I was looking at the connection issue last night and it seems as if you're correct about there not being a mini dvi to adc cable...its strange becasue the guy selling the display didnt mention that 😕

Anyway

You should have the mini-dvi to dvi adapter included with your laptop.
Click to expand...

Is that correct, because i didnt get one with my macbook, its the one just before the SR update?!

Looks like i'll need to get the two cables!! Will that have any effect on picture quality?!

Apart from that is £75 a good price for the display alone?!

Thanks again
Laurie[/QUOTE]

Laurie,

Using Two Cables should not have any negative effect on picture quality. The entire cable pathway will be digital to the display. This setup should work according to that technical note on Apple.com.

I think your laptop should have some with a mini-dvi to dvi connector, but if not they are affordable usually around €16.

Here are some I found on ebay, although Apple sells them directly:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=mini+dvi+to+dvi&category0=

The ACD to DVI converter is a bit harder to find: the link I posted yesterday has them for about €26. There is a Dr. Bott's on ebay for €36 -- this is a more expensive brand but works well from what I have learned.

Again, I have this exact monitor: it is "fun" to have around. Very lightweight, burns little power and looks great on a desk.

The blacks are not as black as newer LCD's and the response time is somewhat slow for gaming and video, but it still works great.

If you need a good basic LCD and don't need high resolution this is a great way to go. I am keeping mine around as I like it a lot.

It has a high "cool" factor.

Let me know if you have any added questions.

Cheers,

Dante
 
Cheers everyone, especially dante, you've been a great help!

That last bit from the apple website was great...the only thing is that that means getting two cables now instead...they'll probably end up costing more than the display itself!! 😱

Any yeah, they are great looking, he showed me one the other day!!! The guy selling it said a firm in london had just upgraded all their monitors and he was getting a delivery of about 300 soon! Unbelievable!!!

Does that kind of thing happen often?! And where would you find out about big sales like that?

Laurie
 
lauriechelt said:
Cheers everyone, especially dante, you've been a great help!

That last bit from the apple website was great...the only thing is that that means getting two cables now instead...they'll probably end up costing more than the display itself!! 😱

Any yeah, they are great looking, he showed me one the other day!!! The guy selling it said a firm in london had just upgraded all their monitors and he was getting a delivery of about 300 soon! Unbelievable!!!

Does that kind of thing happen often?! And where would you find out about big sales like that?

Laurie
Click to expand...

I don't know if it happens often!! I wish I knew where to find out about the big sales like that. Sounds like you have a good source.

Too bad about the cables: perhaps keep your eyes open for them on ebay, etc. They are expensive for sure.

Good luck and thanks for the "thanks,"

Dante
 
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